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NINE DAYS OF NAVRATRI CELEBRATIONS:
Navaratri is separated into sets of three days i.e. into three sets. These sets are made in order to adore different facets of the supreme goddess. On the initial three days, the Goddess is invoked as the supreme powerful force called Durga. Goddess Durga is meant to all our contaminations, evils and defects. On the next three days, she is worshipped as the mother of spiritual wealth, Goddess Lakshmi, She is the one who is considered to have the power of showering on her devotees with the blessings of never-ending wealth. In the final set of three days, the Goddess is worshipped as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. The one is responsible for spiritual enlightenment and overall success in life.

She is also worshipped under nine different names for the nine days in Navratri. Every day, she assumes a new character, a new look and a new duty. She is worshipped as Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skanda Mata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Maha Gauri and Siddhidatri. For the initial six the Pooja celebrations are limited to home. The celebrations acquire a festive form since the seventh day when the festivities of Navratri surround the atmosphere

On the spiritual path there are three factors: Buddha, the master or the presence of the enlightened, sangha, the commune or group, and dharma, your true nature. Life blossoms naturally when there is a balance between the three.

The Buddha is a doorway, and the doorway needs to be more charming than what lies beyond so that people come to the doorway. If you are out in the street and there is rain and thunder, or scorching weather, you feel the need for a shelter. You look and find a doorway. Have you noticed that then, the doorway is more inviting and joyful than anything else in the world?

Similarly, the closer you get to the master, the more charm, newness and love you feel. Nothing in the world could give that much peace, joy and pleasure. It’s like depth without a bottom. This is a sign that you have come to the master.

Once you enter the door, you see the world from there, from the eyes of the master. Then in any situation you will think: How would the master handle this? See the world from the eyes of the master and the world looks so much more beautiful as a place filled with love, joy, cooperation and compassion.

Looking through the doorway there is no fear. From inside your home, you can look at the storm and the bright sun too; yet you can be relaxed as you are in the shelter. Such a sense of security, fullness and joy comes. That is the purpose of having a master.

Sangha is charming from a distance, but the closer you get, it pushes all your buttons and brings out all the unwanted things from within you. If you think a group is good it means you are not yet completely with the group. When you are totally part of that group, you will find that some bickering will come up. But you are the one who makes the group so if you are good, your group will also be good.

Sangha has a reverse nature to Buddha. Buddha makes your mind one-pointed; sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind, fragment it. Once you are used to a sangha, it loses its charm. This is the nature of sangha. Still, it is very supportive. If it were repulsive all the time, then nobody would be part of sangha.

Buddha uplifts with Grace, love and knowledge, Buddha pulls you up from above, and sangha pushes you up from below.

Dharma is to be in the middle. Avoiding extremes is your nature to be in balance, to smile from the depth of your heart, to accept entire existence totally as it is. Often you crave for Buddha and are averse to sangha, and you try to change; but by changing sangha or Buddha, you are not going to change.

The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you, which means to find your dharma. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment, is dharma. All problems and negativity are generated from our mind.

The world is not bad; we make our world ugly or beautiful. So when you are in your dharma, your nature, you will blame neither the world nor the Divine.

Dharma is that which puts you in the middle and makes you comfortable with the world. It allows you to contribute to the world, be at ease with the Divine, to feel part of the Divine. – Sri Sri

Sudarshan Kriya came into being in 1980 in Shimoga, India when Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, now a leading humanitarian and a spiritual leader across the world, went intoa ten-day period of silence.

“I had already travelled around the world. I had taught yoga and meditation. But still I was concerned about how to help people live a happy life. I felt there was something that was lacking. Though people do their practises, their life is in compartments when they come out in life, they are very different people. So, I was thinking how we can bridge this gap-between inner silence and outer expression of life.

During a ten-day period of silence , the SudarshanKriya came like an inspiration. Nature knows what to give and when to give. After I came out of the silence, I started teaching whatever I knew and people had great experiences.”
~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Since then, SudarshanKriya – the powerful, rhythmic breathing technique has been the cornerstone of all Art of Living courses. The first course was taught by Sri SriRavi Shankar at Shimoga. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has made ancient wisdom very practical to modern day and has introduced yoga, pranayamas and meditation into the daily lives of millions over the last three decades.